


Appendix I--Elspeth Hawke Sees All

by solfell



Series: Summer Sings in Me [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Cliche, Drabble, F/M, Gen, No Plot/Plotless, Pre-Relationship, cliche as fuck and i'm embarrassed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-10
Updated: 2015-10-10
Packaged: 2018-04-25 16:36:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4968313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solfell/pseuds/solfell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hawke always had a knack for getting her way and annoying him at the same time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Appendix I--Elspeth Hawke Sees All

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this was kicking around in my brain 5ever, so I wrote it. Don't expect quality.
> 
> This whole bit takes places between chapters 8 and 9 of This Body of Flame and Steel, so if you haven't read that, this might not make sense. (And, no, this totally isn't a ploy to get you to read my other story. Nope. Not at all.)
> 
> Writing from Cullen's perspective was... interesting.

The day before Cullen returns to his duties, Hawke hauls him out of Skyhold and demands he go on a walk with her through the small grove outside the keep's walls. Cullen assumed she was going to do this sooner or later--Hawke always had a knack for getting her way and annoying him at the same time. 

It certainly doesn't help that after all these years, he's almost fond of her.

They wander in silence, which puts Cullen on edge. Hawke doesn't seem bothered, though, but he can't think of an instance when he's seen her visibly bothered. Not for the first time, he wishes he had her self-confidence and sureness. She leads him through the trees, down a path worn by goats, and stops at a cliff that overlooks the valley.

Cullen stands beside her, and gazes down at the campfires and tents along the river. Pilgrims arrive daily, though there are fewer now than there was in Haven and during those early days in Skyhold. Cullen takes a deep breath, lets the crisp mountain air fill his lungs. Today is a good day--his headaches have receded for the most part and the weakness hasn't returned since that first day. 

Roshanak made a few adjustments to the tea remedy her mother sent, and it's helped so far. Last night when she visited, he admitted to her that he was worried about returning to his post. She smiled, rested her hand over his and said, "You'll do fine." 

From anyone else, the words might seem hollow and rote, but Ro's never been a hollow person. There's no artifice about her. She's one of the most earnest people he's ever met--she believes what she says, and it's so easy to trust her judgment. 

"Thinking about the Inquisitor, are you?" Hawke asks. 

Cullen feels his face flare red and he narrows his eyes at Hawke. 

She grins. "You have a certain expression on your face when she's around." Hawke laughs a little. "I never thought you'd become anything more than an arsehole templar," she admits. 

"Excuse me?" 

"I'm happy for you, Cullen," she says.

Cullen doesn't know what to say. He hasn't achieved that much, really, and still struggles more than he lets on. A few people see through that, but he didn't expect Hawke to be one of them. They weren't friends in Kirkwall, but they weren't enemies, either. For a long time, Hawke was just a wayward apostate who put everyone at risk. But it was hard to ignore that she's good person. She helped the people of Kirkwall, protected the defenseless, guarded her friends with a fierce and sincere loyalty. 

Roshanak mentioned how she's made friends with Hawke, and Cullen isn't surprised. The two women are cut from similar cloth. 

"You love her, don't you?" Hawke says in an understone. 

"What?" Even he can hear the edge of panic in the lone syllable. "Who?" 

Hawke pushes at his shoulder, like he's an old friend and it's normal for them to be physically familiar with one another. She might be doing this just to disconcert Cullen. That would be like her. 

"The Inquisitor. Your Roshanak Adaar," Hawke says. 

"She's not my anything," Cullen retorts. "I mean, she's my superior. She's the Inquisitor." 

"Yes, but you're in love with her," Hawke insists. She's smiling, but it's such a gentle look. 

Cullen has a sudden sense of vertigo, but it passes as soon as it arrives. He still feels off-balance, and he swallows against the horror in his throat. Is he that transparent? "Andraste preserve me."

"She hasn't noticed," Hawke assures.  

Cullen looks hard at Hawke. "Are you sure?" 

"Yes." Hawke stands with her hands behind her back, wrists against her tailbone. "Out of all the people in all the world, you end up smitten with a mage qunari. You're aware of how ironic that is, yes?" 

"It's not escaped my notice," he grumbles, and pinches the bridge of his nose for a moment. It's true--Roshanak is a mage and a qunari, but she's not just those things. She's so much more that that, but Cullen's not about to tell Hawke. She likely knows anyway. 

Hawke laughs. "You look like you're doing well, though," she says. "Overall. Leaving Kirkwall was good for you." 

He's glad for the change in subject. "It has been, yes. Where--You've been traveling the last few years?" 

Hawke nods. "Isabela has a ship and a solid crew. We've been hunting down slave ships going to and from Tevinter," she tells him. "Then Carver contacted me with news about the Wardens. I came to Orlais soon after, and here I am now." 

"The Inquisition is grateful for your help." 

"Fenris and Isabela are going to kill me when they find me," Hawke muses. "If I don't die first."

"I pray it doesn't come to that," Cullen says.

Hawke smiles, and it starts out honest and soft, but then her mouth takes on a flippant edge. "If I do die, make sure everyone knows that my mabari inherits all my possessions," she says.

Cullen can't help but laugh at that.


End file.
